The Soldier of Artime
by Falling Stars and Dark Moons
Summary: This is the story of Meghan Ranger, a brave Unwanted. Like all the others, she wants to live, but what's the point of living in Quill, where everything she wants to live for is forbidden? (Improved and Republished)
1. Misfits

**I haven't been on FanFiction for months now, so naturally almost all my documents got deleted, so I thought that I would get a new start on my fanfictions, for most of them, I'll only have to change some stuff, but I think this one needs a completely new beginning! I hope it'll be good, and thanks for reading! Please enjoy!**

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 **Misfits:**

In the desolate land of Quill, it was mostly quiet. Today was the day of a Purge, the one holiday in Quill. The only sounds were the sorting in the amphitheater, and the occasional scurries of small animals and musical chirping of birds. In the Necessary quarters, two small children were huddled in a small grove of trees, whispering to each other quietly. A boy and a girl. The girl's clothes were slightly too large for her, and they hung off her small frame. She watched as her companion held a twig from one of trees as he engraved the ground.

"Wow Alex! That's pretty, but um... what is it?" She pointed to the six-year-old's drawing. She wriggled a bit and adjusted her gray tunic.

"It's supposed to be a bird, but the ground is really dry, Meggie. I wish we had some water would come down from the sky, what do they call it again?" He tapped the stick to his chin thoughtfully and gazed wonderingly at the colorless sky through the leaves of the scrawny trees.

Megan giggled. "It's called rain, silly! And um, please don't call me Meg! It's embarrassing!" She pouted.

"I don't think it's embarrassing though," he frowned thoughtfully and held the twig out to Meghan, "I like it. Hey, do you want to try this now?"

"I'm fine, I prefer to chirp like the birds! And I like to move around too! But you're the best at it Al!"

Alex blushed slightly. "T-thanks. And uh... I think you must be good at that. I think it's called singing and dancing. Wow Meg, you have two talents!"

It was Meghan's turn to blush. "You think so" You really believe in me?"

"Of course I do! I'm your friend right?" He grinned cheekily at her.

She nodded cheerfully, and the two continued talking, Alex trying to draw a better bird. The two felt content for once in their short lives, in their little pocket of trees. It was like their own world, a place where they could be free in their conduct and speech, not being hushed by worried parents. But unfortunately, the peace didn't last for long. As Alex was adding his last stroke to his new bird, they were discovered by a guard. "Hey, you runts!" he called. He seized the stick from Alex's hand and cracked it in half. Then he seized Meghan and Alex by their wrists. The two cried out in pain. "You!" he glared at Alex, "Who are you?"

"A-alex Sto-owe." Alex whimpered.

"You've doing _art_ ," he spat the world out like it was a foul curse word, "That's an infraction! Were you doing it too, _girl_?"

"No! No, she wasn't!" Alex shouted frantically.

The guard examined both young faces. He found Alex was telling the truth, and stalked off to report the infraction. Meghan sobbed. "I don't know what an infraction is, but you should have said that I did it too! What if they do something to you, Al?"

He smiled at her. "I'll be fine. Remember Sean? He gets them too." Meghan sighed, remembering her brother. "Well, it looks like we can't do this anymore. Time to go home, I guess." The two children went their separate ways. _What is an infraction?_ Meghan thought. _I suppose it doesn't matter. But would I get an infraction for singing and dancing too? Is that what art is?_

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The next day, everyone knew about Alex's infraction. Alex's brother, Aaron, was especially disgusted. But Meghan stayed. "Meg, I found out more about this whole infraction thing. Do you want to hear it? I'm afraid it's not very good." She nodded anyways. "Well, if someone catches you doing art, like drawing, singing, dancing, and other stuff, you get an infraction. We can't have any, what did my parents say? Oh yeah. Creativity. No creativity in Quill. if you get enough infractions, at the Purge you become an Unwanted and they kill you."

Meghan gasped in horror. She felt tears slip down her cheeks. No singing, no dancing _ever_ if she wanted to live. It wasn't fair. Alex looked her in the eye and nodded. "I know. I hate it too." He kicked a pebble. "My parents said it's so that everything is the same. She said they call you a misfit if you can't be the same."

"Why though?"

"I don't know. But if I'm a misfit, so be it. But I don't want to be a misfit without you. So what do you say? Should we be misfits together?" He grinned sadly at her. She nodded and repeated the gesture.

"Yeah!"

"Okay then. Then we're not the soldiers of Quill anymore. We're the soldiers of the misfits!" Alex and Meghan laughed quietly, and for a while, they were happy again.

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 **There you are! I thought a cute chapter would help it along a little bit. Any constructive criticism is appreciated, I'm always looking for ways to improve! I'm really happy, I got Island of Graves for Christmas and it was really, really good. I hope all of you Unwanted fans get to read it!  
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	2. A Warning

**So I decided that I still liked this chapter, so now it's Chapter 2. By the way, has anybody seen the cover for Book 7 yet? It's awesome. The book will be called Island of Dragons. And I completely ship Aarlee. If you don't get what I'm saying, you will once you've read Island of Graves. That's all, here's the chapter, please enjoy!**

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I opened my eyes to rain pattering softly on my window, lightly. I looked out again, just to make sure. _Rain?_ Quill rarely got any rain, and when it did, it was heavy rain, falling from clouds so dark they were almost black. The sky would come alive with terrible flashes of blue-white light. _Lightning_. And with the lightning came booming noises, like the sounds of the officials' guns, except much louder. But this rain was the opposite, and it made today, August 11, my birthday seem... special. But I couldn't look outside the window forever. Mother would yell at me to hurry up, it wouldn't matter that today was my birthday. Celebrating them was a thing of the past, my father had told me. Maybe some of the wanted families did sometime, but not us. We were mere Necessaries, the almost slaves of the Wanteds.

When I went to our small kitchen, I saw that Mother was preparing the usual breakfast: dull, boiled grains; a small egg; and an apple. I ate the breakfast up quickly, and then asked my parents, "Could I maybe go outside for a bit?"

"Now?" My mother said like I was mad, "It's raining!"

"It's hardly raining at all! Please, just this once?"

"Possibly after our discussion." my father had come in, looking grim. He occupied the seat across from me. Mother handed him his serving of meager breakfast. He took a scoop of grain and a bite out of his apple and glanced at me.

"What discussion?" I asked him nervously.

"Well Megan, today you are ten. That means we need to make some things clear to you."

"Did Sean get this... talk?" We all glanced mournfully at the fourth, now forever empty chair in the kitchen. My brother Sean's chair. He was gone forever though, dead three years ago. At the Purge, he had been chosen as an Unwanted, dragged into the Great Lake of Boiling Oil at the Death Farm by the elusive and terrifying Death Farmer.

"Yes," my father finally stiffly said, "but he never headed our words, and that is why he is now dead.

"You _must_ be careful, Megan. I know you secretly love your... _art_ , but it will get you killed, just like Sean. You have never been caught at it, but it is only matter of time. Your Infractions can destroy you. Do not tempt Fate. It is cruel, and merciless." I noticed just then how dark the kitchen was now, the air ominous. Then suddenly, anger flared inside me.

"Why do we just stand here why they take away what we care about!" I said defiantly. "They're taking away our family, our self expression, to turn us into people who can only hurt! They took away _Sean_ , they killed him! And you want me to _obey_ them. They treat us like slaves!"

"You don't understand, Megan," mother said sharply, "we were too lenient to Sean. We don't want to lose you as well! When they took Sean, all of us felt terrible. But they have the power Megan. If we spoke what we want, rose up, they would obliterate us! This is to protect you!"

I felt guilty. My parents did care, but they couldn't resist. I realized how selfish I was being. I wanted something impossible, something that would result in many dead, including my own parents. My anger faded. "I'm sorry, I'll try my best not to get an Infraction." Mother and Father looked relieved.

"Alright, then we are done here," Mother told me, "your father and I have to go work now. Goodbye Megan."

After they left I slipped outside. The light rain was still there. I went outside, disappointed in my promise. I'd have to give up the lively part of my life now. Unfortunately though, I was put to the test. And I didn't do very well.

A bird, a robin to be specific, landed on the low wooden fence. I recognized the robin. I'd whistle a few notes with him and dance a bit, and the robin would always hop along on the fence with me. I called the little bird Song. "Hello," I greeted it softly, "I'm sorry, but I can't today. I made a promise." But then it occurred to me. It was raining, and all the adults would be working, no one would see me, so I turned to the little bird. "Maybe just a little bit," I said.

A squashing sound returned me to reality. I turned towards the noise. _Oh no,_ I thought, but it was only the Stowe twins. Alex, holding a bucket, his cheeks slightly flushed and Aaron, who glowered with disapproval. His glare made me a bit nervous, but I still eased up a bit. "Hello, what are you two doing."

"Just... uh... getting rid of stuff," Alex said. He looked like he was going to say more, but then Aaron butted in.

"Do you _know_ what you were doing just then?" he injected, "Singing, and dancing! That's a double Infraction. Someone's going to report that!" Alex glared at his brother, but Aaron just continued looking disgusted and angry. Then Alex dragged him along. He called to Megan behind his back, still blushing, "Anyways um... see you Megan!" Megan sighed. _Guess I shouldn't be out here anymore._ She went inside.

It was lunchtime at school, and I sat down on the edge of the dull, itchy grass and sobbed. Yesterday, after my parents had returned from their work, an officer came to report that I had gotten a double Infraction. After they left my parents had looked at me, not angry but disappointed and sad. I had seen Aaron Stowe watching the officer with a smug expression on my face, and I'd immediately understood that _he_ had done this to me. Aaron Stowe! How could he be so cruel, when Alex was so kind and also into art! It didn't make any sense. I prepared for a day of loneliness. Whenever anyone got an Infraction, they would be treated like the rotting corpse of an Unwanted in public. But then, I felt someone next to me. I looked up. It was Alex.

"Hi," he said sadly, "you always stay with _me_ when I get Infractions, I'm just returning the favor. And your my friend. I wouldn't abandon you."

"Especially since your an outcast yourself?"

"I guess. Anyways, I wanted to... explain something."

"That Aaron reported me? I already guess that Alex. And don't try to explain away his actions. It won't make me feel any better."

"I wasn't going to. He's actually been doing this for a long time. He wants to be a _Wanted_ ," Alex shook his head in disgust. "He says he's tired of being a poor Necessary, and he has plans. He'll do anything to convince them to make him one. I just thought, maybe that..."

"He would spare the people he knew?" I was crying again. "This probably doesn't affect you as much, all the people he reports, after all, your his brother, he wouldn't betray _you_. You won't be alone like me."

Alex sighed. "Actually, you're wrong about that. If you are an Unwanted, I'll be with you."

"What?"

"I have five Infractions now. I'll be with you to the very end." He took my hand and squeezed it, reassuring me.

"So your saying..."

"Yesterday, something happened. And Aaron reported me. I'm officially an Unwanted."

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 **I realized that this seems a lot like a Alghan fanfiction, but it isn't. You'll see. Thanks for reading, and please review. Bye!**


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